Directions : Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical…
2023
Directions : Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical or idiomatic error in it. In the following sentences, a part is highlighted in each sentence which is error-free, the error, if any, will be in any other part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is (e). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).
Q. Scientists has discovered that environmental (A)/ factors play a greater role / than genetic variants in determining (B)/ the height of children (C)/ in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). (D)
Answer: A. A — ConceptSubject–verb agreement: a verb must match its subject in number. A plural subject takes the plural (base) form of the verb, and a singular subject…
- A.
A
- B.
B
- C.
C
- D.
D
- E.
No error
Attempted by 33 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept
Subject–verb agreement: a verb must match its subject in number. A plural subject takes the plural (base) form of the verb, and a singular subject takes the singular form. With the verb "have", a plural subject uses "have" while a singular subject uses "has".
Application
Scan each segment for the subject that governs its verb:
"Scientists has discovered" — the subject Scientists is plural, so the correct verb is have discovered; pairing the plural subject with the singular has is the grammatical error.
"factors play a greater role than genetic variants in determining" — the plural subject factors correctly takes the plural verb play; this segment is correct.
"the height of children" — a well-formed noun phrase with no verb to disagree; correct.
"in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)" — a well-formed prepositional phrase; correct.
Cross-check
Replace the plural subject with a clearly plural pronoun: "They have discovered…" reads correctly, while "They has discovered…" is obviously wrong. This confirms the verb must be have, so the segment "Scientists has discovered that environmental" carries the error and "No error" cannot apply.